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Falkland Islands: Weekly Penguin News update

Cllor Mike Summers, with new Minister for Overseas Territories, Gillian Merron, after attending the Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC) in London this week.

Headlines: 'Positive and constructive' two days at the OTCC; Ocean 8 cleaned but still leaking; FIRS goes global; Broadband goes rural; Your Views about Penguin News!

'Positive and constructive' two days at the OTCCTHE Overseas Territories Consultative Council (OTCC), held in London last week, is a key annual event in the British Government's Overseas Territories calendar, providing a forum for the elected leaders of Britain's Overseas Territories and their representatives to discuss high-level policy with a team of British Government Ministers. Councillor Summers, who attended OTCC with the Islands' Governor Alan Huckle and Falklands Government Representative in London, Sukey Cameron, described the two full days of discussions this week as, "largely positive and constructive." During later bi-lateral talks with the new Minister for Overseas Territories, Gillian Merron, the Airbridge was among the topics discussed. Ocean 8 cleaned but still leaking70 tonnes of oil still unaccounted for, says Director of Fisheries THE dive team on the MV Tasnuihave recovered some 28 tonnes of fuel from the sunken trawler Ocean 8 and all the main tanks have been checked and either had fuel removed, or have been found not to contain fuel, said the Director of Fisheries John Barton. The Ocean 8is lying on her port side in Berkeley Sound where she sank after going on fire six months ago. The MV Tasnui arrived on October 15, and the team onboard worked up to October 28. The oil recovery operation was commissioned and organised by the Ocean 8'sinsurers, The Korean Shipowners Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association. The expected quantities of fuel were found and pumped from a number of the port side tanks, said Mr Barton. "The centre and starboard tanks were found not to contain fuel, or where fuel was present it was in much smaller volumes than anticipated." One port side tank, which was expected to contain oil, was also found to be empty, a finding which was verified after entry by a diver. The oil recovery operation was monitored by fishery officers and personnel from the FPV Protegat The quantity of fuel onboard the MV Tasnui was measured on arrival and at the end of the operation. "This assessment of the quantity of fuel recovered closely matches the figures provided by the dive team," said Mr Barton, adding that the dive team appeared very capable and the oil recovery operation proceeded well, although the quantities of fuel anticipated were not encountered. Some fuel leaked from the Ocean 8 at the time it sank on May 19, and prior to the operation to seal the main leaks. Since then there has been a minor oil slick emanating from the wreck. "It is difficult to know how much fuel leaked from the Ocean 8 during that time, however there does appear to be some 70 tonnes of oil unaccounted for. Some of this may still be in the structure of the Ocean 8, and some of it has probably escaped into the environment," explained Mr Barton. The dive team on the MV Tasnui have sealed up a number of openings on the Ocean 8.These include the eleven holes they made in tanks, as they extracted the fuel, five portholes and eleven vent pipes. On the basis of the information provided from the dive team it is likely that the Ocean 8will continue to leak fuel at a slow rate for some time, but this should have a limited environmental impact, said Mr. Barton. Surveys of the shoreline and seabirds in Berkeley Sound, undertaken during the oil removal operation did not encounter any signs of oil, he concluded. FIRS goes globalTHE Falkland Islands Radio Service (FIRS) will soon be able to be heard by a worldwide audience. The station's website, FIRS, is due to begin streaming FIRS live this weekend. The first programme to be aired officially will be The Fusion on Saturday evening where host Stacy Bragger will be marking the launch of the new service with an exclusive interview with the Kaiser Chiefs. In the near future, podcasts of a wide range of FIRS programmes will be available to download. Station Manager Corina Bishop said this is a great way for people to keep in touch with happenings in the Falklands, especially those who have been away from the Islands for a long time. Synergy Information Systems has been instrumental in ensuring that the streaming could go ahead, she said, adding that it could not have happened without the support and sponsorship of Cable and Wireless. Although Falklands Radio will initially not be online after the Lifestyles Programme finishes each weekday, the plan is to extend the hours in the near future. Broadband goes ruralThis week residents of Darwin and Goose Green have been upgraded to the new telecommunications network being installed by Cable and Wireless. A number of residents in the Fitzroy Ridge area were also upgraded to the new network during the previous week. Project Manager Paul Shelswell, said the new network offers broadband connectivity for the first time, in addition to providing a higher quality telephone service. The first Camp Settlement to be upgraded was Fitzroy in April. The residents of Port Howard and Fox Bay will be next for an upgrade which is planned to take place in early November. Continued on page 3 Your Views aboutPenguin News!INSIDE this issue, you will find a copy of our Reader Survey. Our aim is to make Penguin News a better newspaper for you, so your views are very important to us. It should only take about five minutes of your time to complete, and if you return it to us by November 21, 2008, you'll automatically be entered into our prize draw for the chance to WIN £200! We've enclosed two copies of the survey in every paper, so that everyone in your household can fill one in, but if you need any extra copies for other household members, please contact us or email media.marketing@cwimail.fk.